All Mission Trips

2008 FUMC FARMINGTON/SOUTH LYON

HURRICANE KATRINA MISSION TRIP

Saving Lost Sheep Who Have Fallen Through the Cracks

Your mission team had a spiritually uplifting and personally gratifying experience during our 2008 Hurricane Katrina mission trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We had a lot of fun together & were a hard-working team. At times, we were physically & mentally challenged by our tasks, but we were more than rewarded by the gracious appreciation we received from the homeowner we helped.

Joining us at Camp St. Paul in Ocean Springs were teams from Westchester, PA, Tulsa, OK & Lansing, MI areas. We were originally scheduled to work on a home in Pascagoula, but no one was home. After 2 hrs., the case-worker led us to another house in nearby Moss Point. In hindsight, our team felt that God led us to work at the 2^nd house, because it ended up being such a gratifying experience. James Nettles (or “Mr. James”, as we called him) is a 74-year old retiree, raising 3 great granddaughters, with help from their neighboring grandmother, in a well-worn home over 150 years old. He grows turnips in a large garden and has a pet dachshund. It was apparent from clues we found around the house that he has had to learn how to’ make do’, to keep his household functioning.

Mr. James’ home and others in his neighborhood were more fortunate than most during the hurricane, because they were on a high enough elevation to escape the effects of the storm surge. When Mr. James returned after the hurricane, he discovered water running down from the 2nd floor. Rainwater had ruined the 2 upstairs rooms, where his great granddaughters slept. Some first-floor ceilings, carpeting & furniture were also damaged. Because of the damage, no one has been able to sleep in the house until this past fall. Mr. James had been sleeping in his RV, parked next to the house. The girls are still sleeping at their grandmother’s home.

An earlier team spent 2 weeks in Dec. correcting improperly installed roof shingling, installing electricity upstairs (which had never been there in the past), replacing & painting new upstairs drywall, renovating the stairwell, replacing kitchen cabinets, & repairing & priming the ceilings in the two rooms. We were assigned the tasks of painting the ceilings, interior doors, windows & trim in the two downstairs front rooms, replacing ceiling tiles in 3 other rooms, installing & painting 2 upstairs window casings and adding an attic access hatch and ceiling moulding. It didn’t take us long to realize that there were more things we could do to help. We suggested using waterproof drywall on the bathroom ceiling rather than ceiling tiles, and obtained permission from Mr. James and Camp St. Paul staff to replace the blinds & drapes in the 2 front rooms. We completed additional renovations.

A disturbing fact we learned from Debbie Hatcher, one of the Mississippi UMC caseworkers, is that many people, such as Mr. James, have fallen through the cracks in the recovery process. Relief agencies are unaware of their plight, & these survivors have been unaware that help was available. Debbie discovered Mr. James and others by chance, while she was in the neighbor-hoods supporting other families. In addition, some families who have unwisely spent the money allocated to them by the government need counseling, others need protection from fraudulent contractors who are still victimizing survivors. Most importantly, volunteer help is still desperately needed. While the number of volunteers has been decreasing several other denominations have cut back on their relief support in the region, UMC caseworkers are overloaded with families needing help, & their workload has not been decreasing.

We all felt blessed by the opportunity to help Mr. James & his family. He was so thankful that we were there, & appreciative of everything we did. It was evident from the various religious pictures in his home that his faith was strong that the Lord would somehow provide for him. For those of us who take our safe, warm, well-maintained homes for granted, it was gratifying to be able to make our small contributions to rebuild his home and life. It was a wonderful gift from God to enable us to help those in need along the Gulf Coast. We encourage others to join us to continue the work that is so desperately needed.

For a more detailed report & photos, visit the church web site. Our team is in the process of scheduling a time to formally present our trip results to the congregation.